The present invention relates to a device for driving a reciprocating shaft along its axial direction and, more particularly, to a device which comprises a guide groove drum around which at least one annular guide groove having at least one intersection is formed, a reciprocating shaft which is slidable along the axial direction of the guide groove drum, and a driven member extending from the reciprocating shaft, wherein the driven member is engaged with and guided by the annular guide groove so as to reciprocate the shaft upon the rotation of the guide groove drum.
Devices of this type generally have a cam groove formed in the outer circumferential surface of a drum. The cam groove appears to be a double groove because of a single continuous groove intersection. The driven member fixed to the reciprocating shaft is engaged with the cam groove. When the drum rotates about its central axis or the reciprocating shaft revolute around the circumferential surface of the drum, one reciprocation of the shaft for every two rotations of the drum or every two revolutions of the shaft occurs.
In such a device, when the driven member passes through the intersection of the groove, since walls defining two side surfaces of the guide groove are discontinuous, the driven member cannot be smoothly guided. Therefore, the reciprocating shaft cannot be smoothly driven, resulting in a noisy device. In addition, it is difficult to drive the shaft at high speed.